Uncertain if the words were said or merely thought, Sera surrendered to the intensity of pleasure more powerful than any of the detached rutting she was used to. This was sensual connection, a union of respect and admiration, not tainted by manipulation or deception.
“Holy fuck—” She sensed him hesitate at her exclamation, sensed the words before he asked. “Don’t stop. Please. Don’t ever stop. I’m fine. I’m more than fine. Don’t you dare stop.”
All coherent thought left her, and Sera was mere sensation as the pace started slow. Tentative. Both adjusting to the new, then quickly finding a rhythm as ancient as life itself. Sera’s body was alive with pleasure. Nothing compared to Kieran between her legs, pushing her to realms of ecstasy she’d never imagined possible.
Love poured from her soul, corrupting the blinding lust with something tender. Love twisted and warped sex, heightening pleasure into something profound. Her emotions were pouring from every crack in her armor, leaking from every raw wound, tainting mindless passion with euphoria.
Despite the steady, but hurried pace of his hips, Kieran managed a measured trail of kisses down her neck, her shoulder. The battling tempo of slow and heated was enough, coiling that rising build to release even tighter.
He switched positions, using his stronger arms to lift her upright with no obvious effort. He was on his knees, her legs bound to his hips. Her unpinned hair curtained over them as the blanket fell to the bed and cold slapped her heated skin. Without breaking stride, he aligned his face with her breasts, frozen air caressing each nipple to stiffness until clashing with the warmth of Kieran’s mouth as he worked methodical patterns over each hardened peak. The blissful shocks forced her hands into his hair, gripping for support, to ground herself.
They worked in tandem, building and reaching until Sera was pushed to the edge. A tumble of curses and whimpers followed her climax, Kieran never once faltering in his pace.
Sera’s limbs melted, her body slack and ready to crumble. Then Kieran tore his lips from her breast and pressed his forehead into the anchor of her chest. Holding on a little longer, wrapping her arms fully around him, he came undone beneath her. She savored the gravity of connection, and love did dangerous things to her heart and called tears to her eyes.
She loved him. She loved him with all her being and just getting to hold him now, in a pure exchange of vulnerability, she felt both honored and fortunate beyond her worth.
The words hovered on her lips, waiting to be said.
Neither her nor Kieran moved. They stayed upright, wrapped together, simply breathing. She stroked the downy strands of his hair as she worried that she risked everything by confessing. She couldn’t lose him.
He finally eased her back onto the bed, quickly wrapping her naked body in the blanket in a way that allowed his arm to draw her to his chest, her back flush with his skin, but left the rest of him exposed to the cold. She didn’t speak. She didn’t tell him that her heart was very much tied to him, that she feared losing him, that she feared not being good enough.
Her eyes drifted closed, his arms cradling her with a tension that made her smile, like he feared she would disappear. She sensed him drift into sleep before her, felt the even rise and fall of his chest. She snuggled into the warmth and adjusted her body so there were no gaps in the blanket. Sleep pulled at her. Beckoned. She had never felt so content. Never in her life had Sera experienced such passion and not found pain on the other side.
When she finally slept, it was dreamless and sound.
—
Sera twisted, her body still cradled in Kieran’s arms, though his grip had loosened. Consciousness crept over her and as much as she tried to resist and drift back into the contented oblivion of sleep, other urges were louder.
Untangling carefully from Kieran, she paused and waited to see if he woke. He must have been in a deep sleep. His mouth hung open and an almost boyish lightness to his features. Even now he was beautiful.
Sera slowly crawled from the bed, then hissed as her feet landed on the freezing carpet.
Cold. Cold. Cold.
Every muscle tensed as she found her chemise and then, after a pause where she weighed the possibility of her getting back into her dress, she picked up Kieran’s coat. Then she stopped for her shoes and socks.
She found the adjoining water closet and, once refreshed, attempted to wash some of the lingering traces of sex from her body. The shock of the ice water on her skin lengthened the process. She tried to warm the cloth in her hands, but even with enough friction to burn her palms, the cold of the air immediately sapped all heat.
Doing a mediocre job, but deciding that would have to be enough, she returned to his bedchamber. Kieran slept soundly, arms still sprawled over the empty space she’d left behind. It sent a pang of longing through her chest realizing how perfectly she fit beside him. How even with their drastic differences in tolerable temperatures, they’d seamlessly found a way to stay together all night.
But she’d never last without proper clothes. Sera eased open the main door, hoping to quickly return to her room and find something less difficult to put on to keep warm. Seth should be asleep, as there was still only moonlight shining through the windows. Pausing at the first crossing of hallways, Sera realized she truly had forgotten the path to his bedchamber.
After the second wrong turn, Sera finally found the guest wing, but her steps slowed when a sensation crept up her spine. Goosebumps rising on her arms.
Pulse racing, Sera started to look for signs of anything amiss.
A hand caught her arm hard and pinned it behind her. She was yanked into a solid body, cold fear freezing into numbing shock.
She opened her mouth to scream, but she hadn’t the chance to utter a sound as another hand covered her mouth. Struggling against the hold did nothing. Like trying to free herself from the metal bars of a cage, there was no give in the grip holding her in place.
Her scream died in her throat as she felt breath on her neck.
“Hello, Sera.” The words grated against her ear, familiar chills rocketing down her spine. “Enjoying your evening?
Chapter Fourteen
